Pine and Cedar shavings are dangerous

[MelBeans]

Can you provide some of your sources?

 

[Flybybirds]

Hi All, In reference to shavings I had been using them for years. I now use hay. Makes the daily cleanup easier since it just sits on top of the hay and also the chickens seem to leave parts of it to nest in as well as in their boxes. A 30 # bale of say pangola runs about $8.00. It lasts us four to five thorough cleanings. The Coop always smells good and we have never had problems with mites or insects. I won't use shavings again since I have sources of hay now. Not saying shavings are bad or inferior, just more expensive for me to use.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've used shavings their whole life and they're fine and never been sick or anything. But that's pine, I would never use cedar and I cringe when I see cedar shavings for small animals at TSC :/ Maybe in an open air coop it wouldn't be as bad but in a small confined cage it's worse, those poor animals :/

Anyway, I hear aspen is better, maybe I heard it here? But it's way too expensive to make it worth it.

But I use pine shavings just fine

I think maybe the key is making sure they are kiln dried and there is no odor? If they're dry there's no oils.

I can get a rather large bale/bag for like $6.

And this is in a 3x3 coop kit from TSC they do fine. I'm moving them to a 4x8 coop soon so I think they'll do even better with all the space and open air.

The only time I have had issues is not with the shavings but rather when I don't clean the coop for a while and it starts to smell. The ammonia from the poop is far more dangerous than the shavings.

I am having that issue now do I plan on fully cleaning out the coop today.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I prefer aspen just because it comes in larger flakes, and it's less aromatic, but yes it's more expensive than pine. I don't really see cedar around here anymore, thank goodness, because that used to be super common as small animal bedding and it's not safe for most small animals.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, I did use it once or twice when I first read about it but around here it mostly comes in small animal size which is just too expensive. Petco does have a fairly large bag but even then it's only maybe 4 cu ft expanded? And it's like $14. As opposed to like 8 cu ft and like $6 or less at TSC and my local store. I tried chopped straw last time but just thrown on top, in the nest boxes, and on the ground outside for them to scratch through, but I think I'm allergic to it or something. It was really dusty would make me itch. I could touch it fine so I think it was just the dust. But still. Not worth it. And also in the new coop, it will be too big to use aspen shavings affordablely. So I'll just keep using pine.

And I still see cedar here a lot :/

Not so much at the pet stores, not even sure if they sell it, but at TSC and I think maybe our local store

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yeah the bags at Petco or similar stores are only 4 cubic feet, and I think the cheapest price I've seen was about $12, so if it wasn't for the fact that I have a tiny coop, it'd get crazy expensive really fast. I've been mixing it with some pine bedding from the feed store since it's a lot cheaper, but too fine for my liking - a 50/50 mix gives it a little more texture while keeping the cost more manageable.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah the bags at Petco or similar stores are only 4 cubic feet, and I think the cheapest price I've seen was about $12, so if it wasn't for the fact that I have a tiny coop, it'd get crazy expensive really fast.  I've been mixing it with some pine bedding from the feed store since it's a lot cheaper, but too fine for my liking - a 50/50 mix gives it a little more texture while keeping the cost more manageable.

Yeah, the price seems to go up and down. It's still double for less than half the size though. With the smaller coop though, it might be manageable but they're moving to the big one soon. I find the one from my feed store is great, it's soft and fluffy and pretty good size flakes. The one from TSC is big flakes too, I think they're even bigger than the other one, but they're too hard/rough for my liking and the chickens liking. Well, not that they care lol but I prefer the softer fluffier ones. TSC does also sell a fine one though, they sell flake and "fine" and I don't buy fine. I too prefer flake. And the aspen and pine seem to be about the same size flakes so maybe they sell fine near you?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well I keep looking for a better priced option but my feed store is pretty limited in what they carry. I might try some other stores in the future but for now it's ok. Once I have a bigger set up then I'll have to re-examine my options since filling a whole barn stall won't be fun at that higher price point!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ohhh okay, that makes sense then! That stinks :/ we have lots of options around here because we have both TSC (and now another new one too) and our local Agway close by plus the pet store and Walmart although I've never bought bedding from Walmart. I'm not sure what I'd do if it was limited. Maybe you could find some hay or straw? They sell mulch/construction hay pretty cheap usually. But yeah, I can imagine! I'm nervous how much it'll be filling the 4x8 coop lol

 

[rosemarythyme]

TSC is like a mythical place to me, there isn't one close by lol (I think 50 miles is closest). My feed stores are all privately owned local businesses - not great for variety but they have all the basics and luckily the closest is less than 2 miles away, so even in bad weather I can get down there.

I also admit we don't have a truck or anything like that right now for moving bales, nor a usable shed for storage so it is currently easiest to pick up neat little bags of bedding and stick them in the garage.

Once I transition to a larger set up I might start pushing for deep litter. I've already seen how effective the chickens are at breaking down leaf litter within the run.